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Illustration: the River Barrow at a hillside town with a many-arched stone bridge, a weir and a lock, a kayaker and a small cruiser.

Canals & the Barrow River Ireland

River Barrow & Barrow Line

One of Ireland’s prettiest navigations: 111 km and 33 hand-worked locks from the Grand Canal at Lowtown along the Barrow Line to Athy, then down the wooded River Barrow past Carlow and Graiguenamanagh to the tidal lock at St Mullins.

  • 111 km of navigation
  • 33 locks
  • 20 stops
  • 4 public moorings
  • 1 private marina
  • 1 hire base
  • ≈ 4 days end to end

Days and hours are our estimate: 7.5 km/h and 15 minutes a lock, about six hours a day.

Plan your cruise

Start from a ready-made trip, or plan your own day by day: distances, locks and overnight moorings.

Plan “The River Barrow: Vicarstown to St Mullins and back” Plan your own trip Open on the map

Overview

The Barrow is two waterways in one. From Lowtown on the Grand Canal, the Barrow Line runs 46 km south through ten locks to Athy, a quiet canal across bog and farmland that passes Rathangan, the hire base at Vicarstown and Monasterevin, where an aqueduct carries the canal over the river beside a lifting road bridge. At Athy the canal drops into the river and the mood changes. For 65 km to St Mullins the Barrow is a canalised river with 23 locks, most of them in short side cuts beside weirs, and below Bagenalstown its valley deepens and fills with woods, with Mount Leinster and Brandon Hill rising alongside. The towns are small and close together: Carlow, Leighlinbridge with its medieval bridge, Bagenalstown, Goresbridge, Borris and Graiguenamanagh with its great Cistercian abbey. The old towpath, now the Barrow Way, follows you all the way. Bring a patient crew: every lock is worked by hand, the river can run shallow in summer and services are few. Below St Mullins the river is tidal to New Ross and the sea.

Stops, in route order

20 stops from Ballyteague Locks to St Mullins.

Desk research, not yet checked on site

Lock · Co. Kildare

Ballyteague Locks

A pair of hand-worked locks near the top of the Barrow Line, just south of Lowtown, which since summer 2026 open only with a Waterways Ireland patroller.

By arrangement
Lock 23 on the Barrow Line at Rathangan, its black-and-white gates below the stone arch of Spencer Bridge, with boats moored along the canal beyond.

Town · Co. Kildare

Rathangan

A friendly canal town on the Slate River at the edge of the Bog of Allen, with pubs, cafés and shops a short walk from the Barrow Line.

Photo: Alex Passmore · CC BY-SA 2.0

The stone parapet of the Monasterevin aqueduct, with the Barrow Line canal on the left, the River Barrow below on the right and the lifting bridge in the distance.

Town · Co. Kildare

Monasterevin

The “Venice of Ireland”, where the Barrow Line crosses the River Barrow on an aqueduct beside a lifting road bridge, with a canal harbour close to the town centre.

Public

Photo: Wanfried-Dublin · CC BY-SA 4.0

The lifting bridge over the Barrow Line at Monasterevin, with its overhead wheel and black frame above the canal, seen from the quay at water level.

Bridge · Co. Kildare

Monasterevin Lift Bridge

The only lifting bridge that carries a main road over the Grand Canal, right beside the Barrow aqueduct; boats need Waterways Ireland staff to raise it.

Photo: Colin Park · CC BY-SA 2.0

The stone arch of the R427 bridge over the Barrow Line at Vicarstown, mirrored in still canal water.

Village · Co. Laois

Vicarstown

A tiny canal village in County Laois and home of the Barrowline Cruisers hire base, with a pub a few steps from the water.

Private · not yet checked

Photo: Sarah777 · CC BY-SA 2.0

Approaching Athy on the River Barrow, with White’s Castle and the arches of Crom-a-Boo Bridge ahead and clouds reflected in calm water.

Town · Co. Kildare

Athy

A busy market town where the Barrow Line meets the River Barrow, with river trips from the town quay and the new Shackleton Experience museum.

Not yet checked

Photo: A.-K. D. · CC BY-SA 4.0

Ardreigh Lock seen from the water, with its stone walls, black balance beams and the white lock house on the right.

Lock · Co. Kildare

Ardreigh Lock

The first lock on the river navigation below Athy, in a side cut beside the site of a great flour mill, with a little lifting bridge just upstream.

Next opening Sat, 31 Oct at 07:23

Photo: A.-K. D. · CC BY-SA 4.0

The white-tipped balance beam of Levitstown Lock leading towards the tall, roofless stone shell of the old malt mill.

Lock · Co. Kildare

Levitstown Lock

A lock at the end of a long, green side cut, overlooked by the burnt-out shell of a great malt mill, with a lifting bridge and the Barrow’s key water-level gauge.

Next opening Sat, 31 Oct at 07:23

Photo: Bernadette Gibbs · CC BY-SA 3.0

Lock · Co. Kildare

Maganey Lock

A lock below the long road bridge at Maganey, scene of a 1642 battle, with a shop and fuel station near the bridge for restocking.

Next opening Sat, 31 Oct at 07:23
Swans on the River Barrow at Carlow in front of modern riverside apartments and the tall spire of St Mary’s Church.

Town · Co. Carlow

Carlow

The Barrow’s biggest town: a Norman castle above the river, museums, shops and restaurants close to the water, and the lowest bridge on the navigation.

Photo: Colin Park · CC BY-SA 2.0

The low stone arches of Graiguecullen Bridge across the River Barrow at Carlow, with the ruined tower of Carlow Castle beyond and the town reflected in calm water.

Bridge · Co. Carlow

Graiguecullen Bridge

Carlow’s old stone bridge and the lowest on the Barrow Navigation: Waterways Ireland gives 2.58 m of headroom over a width of 2.4 m.

Photo: Colin Park · CC BY-SA 2.0

Lock · Co. Laois

Clogrennan Lock

A quiet lock at the end of a long side channel below Carlow, with a public slipway and the ruins of a fifteenth-century castle close by.

Next opening Sat, 31 Oct at 07:23
The gravel towpath beside Milford Lock, with the lock gates ahead, tall trees and an old stone wall on the right.

Lock · Co. Carlow

Milford Lock

A lovely spot where the river splits around wooded islands beside Milford Mills, which lit Carlow’s streets with water power in 1891.

Next opening Sat, 31 Oct at 07:22

Photo: A.-K. D. · CC BY-SA 4.0

The stone arches of the old bridge at Leighlinbridge seen from the water, with valerian and grasses growing along the parapet.

Village · Co. Carlow

Leighlinbridge

A pretty village gathered around one of Europe’s oldest working bridges, with the Black Castle above the moorings and a long-established riverside inn.

Public

Photo: A.-K. D. · CC BY-SA 4.0

The raised lifting bridge at Bagenalstown Lock, its steel frame above the lock entrance, with a swan on the calm river.

Town · Co. Carlow

Bagenalstown

A former mill town with one of Ireland’s finest railway stations, a lock in the middle of town and a heated outdoor pool beside the river.

Photo: A.-K. D. · CC0

The granite arches of Gore’s Bridge mirrored in the calm River Barrow on a frosty morning, with an old stone store on the far bank.

Village · Co. Kilkenny

Goresbridge

A small Kilkenny village by a nine-arch granite bridge of 1756, with a riverside café and waterways museum in an old canal store.

Photo: A.-K. D. · CC0

The River Barrow flowing between grassy banks and leafy trees just below Borris Lock on a sunny day.

Village · Co. Carlow

Borris

A handsome granite estate village on the hill above Borris Lock, with a sixteen-arch railway viaduct, a boutique hotel and the ancestral home of the MacMurrough Kavanaghs.

Photo: Artur Kozioł · CC BY-SA 3.0

Clashganny Lock and its white lock keeper’s house seen from the wooded hillside above the river valley.

Lock · Co. Carlow

Clashganny Lock

A lock in a wooded gorge beside curving weirs, loved by white-water paddlers and summer swimmers, with lifeguards at the swimming area in season.

Next opening Sat, 31 Oct at 07:22

Photo: A.-K. D. · CC BY-SA 4.0

Cruisers moored at the quay in Graiguenamanagh beside the many-arched stone bridge, with Brandon Hill rising beyond.

Town · Co. Kilkenny

Graiguenamanagh

The jewel of the lower Barrow: a riverside town of stone quays and an old many-arched bridge beneath Brandon Hill, around the great Cistercian church of Duiske Abbey.

Public

Photo: Smirkybec · CC BY-SA 4.0

St Mullins Lock, the last on the Barrow, with its balance beams, a wide lawn and the stone lock keeper’s house below wooded hills.

Village · Co. Carlow

St Mullins

The end of the inland navigation: a tidal quay below the last lock, a café in the old grain store and one of Ireland’s great early Christian monastic sites.

Public

Photo: Dowlinme · CC BY-SA 4.0

Show all 20 stops Show fewer stops

Also on this waterway: Lowtown (Grand Canal)

Practical rules

Mooring limits, locks, speed and hazards, in our own words with links to the sources.

Permits

Every boat needs a Waterways Ireland canal permit, displayed on the outside of the boat. The Combined Mooring and Passage permit (€126, valid 1 November to 31 October) covers the locks and lets you stay up to five days at one public mooring; a free visitor permit gives up to 31 days once a calendar year (permits). Hire boats come with theirs.

Locks

All 33 locks, 10 on the Barrow Line and 23 on the river, are worked by your crew with a lock key during daylight hours; chambers are 18.5 m long and 3.9 m wide, and no Smart Card is needed. Since April 2026 everyone handling the boat in or beside a lock must wear a lifejacket or buoyancy aid. Since July 2026 Locks 20 and 21 at Ballyteague and Lock 23 at Rathangan open only with a Waterways Ireland patroller (Marine Notice 88, a dry-weather measure): phone ahead and check it still applies. Patroller numbers for each group of locks are on the boater information page.

Depth and headroom

In summer the depth can fall to 0.76 m, and silt restricts deeper boats (Marine Notice 46 of 2026). The lowest bridge, at Carlow, leaves 2.58 m over a width of 2.4 m.

Speed

6 knots on the river and 3.2 knots in canal sections; slow down near bridges, jetties, locks and moored boats.

Hazards

Most river locks lie in side cuts beside weirs: keep to the lock cut, above all when the river is up after rain. Below St Mullins the river is tidal; ask the Port of New Ross harbour master (+353 51 421303) before going on. There is no winter mooring, and from 1 November to 17 March check with Waterways Ireland that the navigation is open. Read the marine notices before you go.

This is a travel guide, not a navigation aid.

Conditions on the water

Forecast, warnings and water levels

Weather and water

Loading the latest conditions…

Locks & bridges

33 locks on this waterway. The times below are worked out on this device. They change with the season: always read the notice.

  • Ballyteague Locks Lock · Opened by arrangement
    By arrangement
  • Ardreigh Lock Lock · Self-operated with a lock key
    Next opening Sat, 31 Oct at 07:23
  • Levitstown Lock Lock · Self-operated with a lock key
    Next opening Sat, 31 Oct at 07:23
  • Maganey Lock Lock · Self-operated with a lock key
    Next opening Sat, 31 Oct at 07:23
Show 3 more
  • Clogrennan Lock Lock · Self-operated with a lock key
    Next opening Sat, 31 Oct at 07:23
  • Milford Lock Lock · Self-operated with a lock key
    Next opening Sat, 31 Oct at 07:22
  • Clashganny Lock Lock · Self-operated with a lock key
    Next opening Sat, 31 Oct at 07:22

All lock and bridge times Check the Waterways Ireland marine notices

Hire bases

Hire companies with a base on this waterway.

All hire companies

Itineraries

Ready-made trips that start here or pass through.

All itineraries

Events

No events listed for this waterway yet.

All events Tell us about an event

Marine notices

Current Waterways Ireland marine notices for this waterway. The one-line summaries are ours: read the notice itself.

Show 4 more

Source: Waterways Ireland · All marine notices on Waterways Ireland

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Boats for sale: River Barrow & Barrow Line

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On buz.ie by county: Co. Kildare Co. Carlow Co. Laois Co. Kilkenny

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More on the map, from OpenStreetMap

Places on the map that are not near one of our stops. Listed on OpenStreetMap, not checked by us. © OpenStreetMap contributors

Harbours & marinas from OpenStreetMap — access not checked (1)
Food & drink (3)
Locks & bridges (18)
Things to do (8)
Services (2)